MOONEY l THE NEWS AT PINE RIDGE S73 



inquiring afterward I learned that this was not correct, as Father 

 Craft did haveon his priestly robes. From the Indian statement, how- 

 ever, and the well-known affection in which he was held by the Sioux 

 it is probable that the Indian who stabbed him was too much excited 

 at the moment to recognize him. 



The news of the battle was brought to the agency by Lieutenant 

 Guy Preston, of the Ninth cavalry, who, in company with a soldier and 

 an Indian scout, made the ride of 16 or IS miles in a little over an hour 

 one horse falling dead of exhaustion on the way. There were then at 

 the agency, under command of General Brooke, about 300 men of the 

 Second infantry and 50 Indian police. 



The tiring at Wounded Knee was plainly heard by the thousands of 

 Indians camped about the agency at Pine liidge, who had come in 

 from the Bad Lands to surrender. They were at once thrown into 

 great excitement, undoubtedly believing that there was a deliberate 

 purpose on foot to disarm and massacre them all, and when the fugi- 

 tives — women and children, most of them — began to come in. telling 

 the story of the terrible slaughter of their friends and showing their 

 I deeding wounds in evidence, the camp was divided between panic and 

 desperation. A number of warriors mounted in haste and made all 

 speed to the battle-ground, only about two hours distant, where they 

 met the troops, who were now scattered about, hunting down the fugi- 

 tives who might have escaped the first killing, and picking up the 

 dead and wounded. The soldiers were driven in toward the center 

 where they threw up entrenchments, by means of which they were 

 finally able to repel the attacking party. With the assistance of a 

 body of Indian scouts and police, they then gathered up the dead and 

 wounded soldiers, with some of the wounded Indians and a few other 

 prisoners to the number of 51, and came into the agency. In the mean- 

 time the hostiles under Two Strike had opened fire on the agency from 

 the neighboring hills and endeavored to approach, by way of a deep 

 ravine, near enough to set fire to the buildings. General Brooke, desir- 

 ing to avoid a general engagement, ordered out the Indian police— a 

 splendidly drilled body of 50 brave men — who gallantly took their 

 stand in the center of the agency inclosure, in full view of the hostiles, 

 some of whom were their own relatives, and kept them off, returning 

 the fire of besiegers with such good effect as to kill two and wound 

 several others. The attacking party, as well as those who rode out to 

 help their kinsmen at Wounded Knee, were not the Pine Bidge Indians 

 (Ogalala) but the Brule from Rosebud under the lead of Two Strike, 

 Kicking Bear, and Short Bull. On the approach of the detachment 

 returning from Wounded Knee almost the entire body that had come 

 in to surrender broke away and fell back to a position on White Clay 

 creek, where the next day found a camp of 4,000 Indians, and including 

 more than a thousand warriors now thoroughly hostile. On the even- 

 ing of the battle General Miles telegraphed to military headquarters, 



